1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coated conductive elements, and more particularly, to an insulated conductive element comprising substantially continuously coated sections separated by uncoated gaps.
2. Related Art
The use of medical devices to provide therapy to individuals for various medical conditions has become more widespread as the therapeutic benefits of such devices become more widely appreciated and accepted throughout the population. For example, hearing aids, implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, functional electrical stimulation devices, prosthetic hearing devices, organ assist and replacement devices, sensors, drug delivery devices and other medical devices, have successfully performed life saving, lifestyle enhancement or other therapeutic functions for many individuals. One common usage of medical devices is to treat an individual's hearing loss.
Hearing loss, which may be due to many different causes, is generally of two types, conductive and sensorineural. In some cases, a person suffers from both types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss occurs when the normal mechanical pathways for sound to reach the cochlea are impeded, for example, by damage to the ossicles. Individuals suffering from conductive hearing loss typically have some form of residual hearing because the hair cells in the cochlea are undamaged. As a result, individuals suffering from conductive hearing loss typically receive a hearing prosthesis that generates mechanical motion of the cochlea fluid.
In many people who are profoundly deaf, however, the reason for their deafness is sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there is damage to the inner ear, or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain. As such, many individuals suffering from sensorineural hearing loss are thus unable to derive suitable benefit from hearing prostheses that generate mechanical motion of the cochlea fluid. As a result, hearing prostheses that deliver electrical stimulation to nerve cells of the recipient's auditory system have been developed. Such electrically-stimulating hearing prostheses deliver electrical stimulation to nerve cells of the recipient's auditory system thereby providing the recipient with a hearing percept. Electrically-stimulating hearing prostheses include, for example, auditory brain stimulators and cochlear prostheses (commonly referred to as cochlear prosthetic devices, cochlear implants, cochlear devices, and the like; simply “cochlear implants” herein.)
Oftentimes sensorineural hearing loss is due to the absence or destruction of the cochlear hair cells which transduce acoustic signals into nerve impulses. Cochlear implants provide a recipient with a hearing percept by delivering electrical stimulation signals directly to the auditory nerve cells, thereby bypassing absent or defective hair cells that normally transduce acoustic vibrations into neural activity. Such devices generally use a stimulating assembly implanted in the cochlea so that the electrodes may differentially activate auditory neurons that normally encode differential pitches of sound. As is known in the art, a stimulating assembly comprises a plurality of electrode contacts each individually electrically connected to a stimulator unit via elongate conductive elements, such as wires. In practice, a coating is applied to the surface of the conductive elements for one or more of electrical and physical insulation, passivation, biocompatibility and immobilization of microscopic particles.